TOKYO - Small cockroaches were found in a chicken bowl served last year at an outlet of Japanese fast-food restaurant chain Yoshinoya Co. in the city of Fukuoka.

A customer complained about the cockroaches in the chicken bowl in October last year and a Yoshinoya manager, after confirming their presence, swiftly closed the restaurant to dispose of all the ingredients and clean up, the company, known for its mainstay beef bowls, said Monday.

Local food safety authorities instructed the restaurant chain operator to strengthen food sanitation management and Yoshinoya said it is taking measures to prevent a recurrence.

Similar complaints have been reported in recent years, including cockroaches found in a can of tuna produced by Hagoromo Foods Corp. in 2016 and in a package of Maruka Foods' popular Peyoung brand instant noodles in 2014.

A number of incidents involving foreign matter in food also affected McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) in 2014 and 2015, including bits of vinyl or plastic found in a Chicken McNugget and a human tooth in French fries.

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